


The Littlest Diamond

by barrisscoffees, Pessimisticipher



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Gen, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Pink Diamond Origin
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-29
Updated: 2021-01-29
Packaged: 2021-03-02 17:54:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,023
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24430912
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/barrisscoffees/pseuds/barrisscoffees, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pessimisticipher/pseuds/Pessimisticipher
Summary: Pink Diamond was a gift to Homeworld, a truly joyous gem with a love for those around her. Her heart was as big as her aura and she could not help but give a smile to those honored to bask in her presence. The day she fled to begin anew, a shadow of mourning weighed on gemkind as her kindness left with her.But little Pink was not always like this. Her misery did not come once in a millennium, could there be more lost in the unknown?
Comments: 13
Kudos: 30





	1. Prologue-Emerging

**Author's Note:**

> beta read by Barrisscoffees

Voices… had there always been voices? A litany of sounds, strung together to form words, sentences, music. Resonance lulled the child of the earth into consciousness, or rather, wakefulness.

A soft pink glow hummed against the rock surrounding the newly born, light racing to meet the outside world of which she knew nothing about. The gem touched her center and trembled, slowly walking toward the hole formed around her. It was cold, chilling without the warmth of sunlight. She was starved, confused and alone, aching for the brilliant light that would end this hunger. The few rays that gleamed just beyond arm's reach teased her as she struggled to escape the coffin of minerals.

Finally, she reached her goal of freedom. Finally, she could meet the world that she had already begun to love in earnest. Her shaking hand grasped the edge of the cavern, pulling herself out of the void from which she was born and into the light. It was blinding, the gem couldn’t help but cower while adjusting to the overwhelming stimulus she had stumbled into. Once the pain passed and the warmth settled, she opened her eyes.

Three giants towered over her, two as vibrantly pigmented as she and one… one was devoid of color. Was she one of them, and, if so, what is she?

“She’s _late_ ,” a harsh tone.

“She’s _small_ ,” words as soothing as a breeze.

“She’s a diamond,” White spoke with an air of finality, scooping the young diamond into her hands to greet her kin.

“Welcome to era one, _Pink_.”


	2. A New Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pink is gifted with a pearl, a direct gift from White Diamond herself, specially made with her in mind. How will the little diamond introduce herself to all of homeworld?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> beta read by barrisscoffees

The palace was far more impressive than the lonely kindergarten she had been first acquainted with. The entrance was daunting, a sky-high diamond-shaped hall, sans any visible doors. 

“-and these will be your quarters,” Pink snapped from her observing thoughts, suddenly brought back to the reality of her new existence. White looked down at her, a small smile that, for all its genuity, seemed almost misfitting. “Do you have any questions, Starlight?” Despite being freshly emerged, somehow Pink knew everything she was as it should be. 

“Nope.” She hadn’t heard a single word White had said despite being lectured for the last hour. 

White brought her hand to her face with a soft gasp, “Oh, I almost forgot.” 

Pink tilted her head to the side in confusion, but before she could ask, she was cut off. 

“As a diamond,” White pulled out a tiny round gem that Pink couldn’t see very well, “it is a must to have a pearl. As you know, pearls are a sign of status, as they are created for the sole purpose of dedicating itself to its master. In this case, the master will be you.” The giant woman kneeled to Pink’s level with a strange object in her palm. It levitated, encased in a blue light shaped into a shell. A pearl, Pink knew instinctively.

“Please identify yourself.” An iridescent glow radiated.

White nudged Pink toward the pearl, “P-Pink Diamond?” It was more of a question than anything else, but it was accepted nonetheless. 

“Greetings, Pink Diamond. Please state preferred customization options.” Pink hesitated, turning back toward White, a plea for help. She had no idea how to respond. 

White cleared her throat, “Facet-1A0R Cut-10XQ, pigment: pink.”

The pearl materialized its humanoid form, stepping down from the shell and curtsying. She was pink, just like her! “How do you do, My Pink Diamond? Thank you for bringing me into the world. I am at your eternal service, welcome to your new pearl.” 

“Oh, oh! How exciting,” the small diamond was vibrating with anticipation. “Hello, Pearl! It’s so wonderful to meet you!” She moved closer and crouched, grabbing the pink pearl’s hands. 

White pushed her hand between the two, “Now now, Pink, you cannot address a pearl in that manner. She is below your status and you must respect the social caste.”

“Social… caste?” Pink tilted her head. The unfamiliar words felt heavy in her mouth.

“A caste is a form of social stratification characterized by ritual status in a hierarchy, and customary social interaction and exclusion based on cultural notions.” White Diamond explained. Pink Diamond stared blankly. White huffed impatiently.  
“It is a social institution that is determined by a gem’s emerging.”

“Oh.”

“Yes, that is why you must always remember your place. Keep your gems in line and serve as a leader, like a diamond, Starlight.” With that, the towering White stood to take her leave. “I have other matters to tend to. If you need anything you should visit Yellow or Blue. Your pearl should be able to access any pertinent information.”

The pink pearl stood in salute, “Yes, my diamond.” Satisfied by this answer, White stood and left the room, closing the door behind her. Pink stared at the door before looking back toward the statue-like gem who held her pose.

“Um… so what’s your name?” Pink asked in a fruitless attempt to break the awkward silence.

“Anything you would like, my diamond,” she said. 

“‘Anything you would like’ is a pretty long name…” Pink took a seat on the floor, huffing. Pink looked around the room for inspiration, eyes locked on the balcony as curtains fluttered in the breeze. “What about… curtains? No, no, that’s a stupid name.” 

She fell back, spread-eagle on the cold floor. 

“I just emerged and I’m already bored!” Pink rolled onto her stomach and looked out into the horizon.

Curtain took a step toward her, hands clasped. “If you would like, my diamond, I could escort you to your fellow diamonds.”

“Oh, that would be fun,” Pink said. “Who should we visit first?” 

“Whoever you would like to, my diamond.” The title was rapidly becoming uncomfortable. 

“Well… who is available right now?” She asked.

Curtain’s gem projected a schedule that seemed to scroll endlessly, “Yellow Diamond is currently off-planet.”

“Oh.”

“However, Blue Diamond is available and currently present in the ballroom to manage the building of your throne.”

“Oh! Then what are we waiting for?” Pink leapt to her feet; Curtain stared at her blankly. Pink took the hand of her pearl and pulled her along as she ran down the hallway. She flew down the stairs, sliding down the railing before leaping off. Hands waving frantically as she tried to gain Blue’s attention which, at the moment, was captured by a sapphire. 

“Blue! Hey Blue!” She shouted.

The blue diamond jumped in surprise and spun to face Pink. “Oh, Pink,” her smile was gentle and she leaned down to scoop the smaller diamond into her hand. Blue raised her to eye level, “It is so lovely to see you again.” Her smile radiated honesty and Pink couldn’t help but grin in response. “Is there something you need?” 

“Just wanted to see you,” Pink said. “What’re you doing?”

Blue ruffled Pink’s hair, turning the already poofy mess into a cotton candy prison. Pink shook out her head and pawed at it futilely. 

“Is that so?” Blue chuckled, placing Pink on her shoulder. “I am preparing a celebration of your arrival for-”

“Can I help?” Pink asked, tugging Blue’s hair to bring her back to the present. Blue hardly registered the action. 

“Well,” she hummed, “if you are truly that bored, perhaps you could aid me in your festival. I could use the help; I am preoccupied with a tedious batch of faulty fluorite.”

Pink was placed back to the ground and saluted the other diamond, “You can count on me!”

Blue laughed, “oh Pink, you’re hilarious!” She walked past her with a wave, followed by a pearl that Pink hadn’t realized was even present. “I look forward to seeing how you perform,” and with that, Pink was left alone again.

Curtain stepped toward Pink, “What shall you do, my diamond?”

Pink fixed her mouth into a determined frown, “Prove myself as one of them.”


	3. A Grand Plan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “That!” Pink exclaimed. “I want my own chair!”  
> “A… chair, My Diamond?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry for the late chapter! I meant to post this ages ago but it fell on the backburner b/c I started my freshman year of university. COVID hasn't been making it any easier, but here it is! Hopefully, the next chapter won't take ages to update!

Organizing a ball was much more difficult than Pink had anticipated. Blue had left several hours ago, leaving the small diamond to her devices. She had not offered as much help as Pink had wanted, but she supposed that was just as well. All the better to demonstrate her reliability.  
She walked back to her room; Curtain trailed not far behind her, the soft pitter-patter of her flats against the tile floor echoing in the cavernous hallways. Reaching the doors, Pink waited as Curtain pressed her hand to a small diamond low on the wall, causing them to slide open. The room was relatively void of any furnishing, scratch that, it was completely barren. Where could she possibly sit? Pink considered asking the pearl but was still a name. She regarded the pearl carefully, Curtain unfazed and saluting. Pink tried to come up with something fitting.  
Curtain was a matching shade of pink, but that was her name. ‘That’s too confusing,’ she thought. Curtain wore a two-piece leotard that proudly exposed her gem and a tulle cape around her waist. A feature that stood out, in particular, was her hair; pink buns elegantly wound around themselves like a-  
“Rose.”  
Curtain jumped from her stagnant position, “I beg your pardon, my Diamond?”  
“I’ll call you ‘Rose’,” Pink said. She thought it fitting of the pearl who smiled kindly and sat cross-legged on the ground.  
“Thank you for the title, my Diamond.”  
The lack of real reaction unsettled Pink, however, she chose not to acknowledge it. Clapping her hands, she said, “With that out of the way, how do we begin? I want my entrance to be grand!"  
Rose summoned the tablet from her gem once again, “I have retrieved the data Blue Diamond had her pearl transcribe, though most is in imagery.”  
“Well that’s not very helpful,” Pink grumbled, supporting her head on her palm. “What am I supposed to do with that?”  
Rose swiped through the drawings rapidly in an attempt to make sense of it.  
Pink’s head snapped up when a drawing flashed by, “Wait! Go back!”  
Caught off guard, Rose jumped. “Y-yes, My Diamond?”  
“Gimme, gimme!” Pink extended her arms and grabbing for the tablet. The pearl obeyed seamlessly, holding it out to the diamond who snatched it from her.  
Admittedly, Blue’s pearl was incredibly talented at drawing, if not a bit angular. However, that was not what caught Pink’s eye. Three large thrones sat in an arch, the ones she had seen while in the ballroom, but there was a fourth seat beneath them all. It was her size, a sketch symbolizing her place as a diamond, her being accepted into her new family.  
“That!” Pink exclaimed. “I want my own chair!”  
“A… chair, My Diamond?”  
Pink swiped the image away, pulling up a blank canvas that was much larger than the last. “Yes, Rose! My own matching chair to show my status.” She punctuated the last word with a grandiose imitation of White, both arms reaching elegantly toward the sky.  
The pearl could not help but giggle before pushing a hand against her mouth to gain her composure. Pink began a rough layout of the room’s composition, sketching.  
“The point of this, this…“  
“Ball,” Rose said.  
“Ball! Thank you.” Rose blushed. “The point of this ball is to announce myself, right? I can’t go up and say hi to everyone, so they’ll come to me!” Pink doodled a stick figure of herself sitting in a diamond-shaped seat, a procession coming down the room to greet her with radiating smiles.  
“Then,” she clapped her hands. “We can all dance together!”  
Smile faltering, Rose took a hesitant step forward. “My apologies, My Diamond, but that would be inappropriate.”  
“Why’s that?” Pink’s bright expression fell into curiosity.  
“It… it is not my place to oppose you, My Diamond, however, I… I worry White Diamond will not be… pleased with the heterogeneous mixture of caste.”  
Pink turned her head with a pout, furrowing her brows and closing her eyes. “This is my event,” She commanded. “White isn’t the one planning, so it is for me to decide what is appropriate and what’s not.”  
Rose conceded while Pink proceeded. Pink laced her fingers and stretched her arms with a row of satisfying cracks, “Let’s do this!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See if you can find all the easter eggs throughout the chapters! More to come as well. Decided to make it a bit more obvious in this chapter.


End file.
